Jennifer Lopez’s First Marriages ‘Don’t Really Count’—Here’s Why!

Jennifer Lopez has never been shy about following her heart, and that includes her whirlwind marriages. Over the years, the pop icon has married four times, each time facing intense public scrutiny. While many fans have followed her love life with interest, not all have been kind about the speed at which Lopez married certain partners. However, the star has never hesitated to defend her decisions—especially when questioned about marrying quickly.

Lopez’s first marriage was to Ojani Noa in 1997, just a year after they met in 1996. She quickly married again in 2001, this time to dancer Cris Judd, a man she met while filming her music video for “Love Don’t Cost a Thing.” But it was her third marriage, to singer Marc Anthony, that prompted the most rapid criticism. Lopez had known Anthony for years before they began dating in 2004, just after her high-profile breakup with Ben Affleck. Despite the long friendship, Lopez’s quick marriage to Anthony in June 2004 raised eyebrows.

Lopez was well aware of the public commentary surrounding her relationships, especially given her high-profile split from Ben Affleck and her past with Diddy. She recalled a particularly pointed moment during an interview with Irish Examiner when a critic asked if she had married too soon. “I was like, ‘Well, you have no right to judge me, you don’t know what happened,’” Lopez retorted. She made it clear that outsiders didn’t have the full story and that the public’s portrayal of her love life was far from the truth. “Some of it’s totally made up, and some of it’s based on truth, and some of it’s a soap opera they’re creating.”

For Lopez, decisions about marriage have always been about following her instincts. “I’m human and I make choices. I follow my heart, I make mistakes and I just keep doing. I’m a woman. Well, I’m a girl, and absolutely, I believe in love. It’s the only thing,” she explained, reiterating her belief in love as the guiding force behind her choices.

Lopez’s marriage to Marc Anthony lasted the longest out of all her relationships, enduring for seven years before they finalized their divorce in 2014. However, even during that time, Lopez had doubts. Reflecting on her marriage, she admitted, “I knew very quickly that it wasn’t the right thing,” revealing that she had questions about their relationship much earlier than she let on.

Despite the eventual divorce, Lopez has worked hard to maintain a positive relationship with Anthony, especially for the sake of their children. “When my marriage ended, it was not easy to find forgiveness. It wasn’t the dream that I had hoped for… But Marc is the father of my children, and that’s never going away. So I have to work to make things right. And that is, by far, the hardest work I do,” she said.

Interestingly, Lopez has a unique perspective on her first two marriages, which she does not view with the same weight as her later unions. She considers her first marriages to Noa and Judd to be relatively short-lived, dismissing them as “not really counting” in terms of their significance. “I’ve been married three times: once was nine months and once was 11 months, so I don’t really count those,” she explained during a YouTube video. “I was married to Marc for 10 years, with the kids. I was very young the first two times I tried to get married,” she added, emphasizing that her first two marriages were more about trying to find her place rather than truly experiencing marriage as she now understands it.

Jennifer Lopez’s candidness about her relationships, both the good and the bad, reflects her unwavering belief in following her heart and learning from each experience. Whether defending her decisions or reflecting on the challenges of her past, Lopez continues to show that love—though often complicated—is a journey worth taking.